Hi Everyone!

This is our podcast teaser, 'pilot', episode. We are so excited to be sharing this with you and giving you a taster of what our podcast is going to be about.

You will quickly discover that Kathryn and Andrew are talking about serious topics, but not in a harrowing way. You will hear random bursts of giggles, random cut aways to side thoughts, but mainly a desire to help the protection industry evolve.

We hope you like this taster and we shall see you for our official launch, at the beginning of February.

Bye for now

Hi Everyone,

This is our first official, proper, hopefully fantabulous, brand spanking new episode. Can you tell we are a bit excited?

In this episode we are focusing on epilepsy and what you need to know, if you have this condition and want insurance.

Our 3 key takeaways,

1. There are approximately 60 different types of epileptic seizures

2. Epilepsy is not often a huge red flag for insurers

3. Two case study clients living with epilepsy, you might think are uninsurable

Don't worry, we know insurance is boring and Kathryn and Andrew have done well to avoid the jargon!

There is also a teaser at the end where you get to decide in this episodes 'Truth or Lie' if it is Kathryn or Andrew that is a liar. But! You have to tune in for episode 2 to hear the answer, see what we've done there, enticing you back, we're so smooth.

Hi Everyone,

We are absolutely blown away by the downloads and feedback that the podcast is getting. Thank you to everyone that has left us a review and personally reached out to us to give us your thoughts.

In this episode we are focusing on rare diseases (or conditions as Kathryn prefers, she doesn't like being thought of as diseased!) and what you need to know, if you have this condition and want insurance.

Our 3 key takeaways,

1. 1 in every 20 people in the UK has a rare disease

2. Insurers trust that GP reports are accurate, but there are times that they are wrong

3. A case study of sickle cell anaemia

Andrew has expertly stayed away from technical jargon, but please forgive Kathryn for going off on a smidgen of medical info, this is a subject she is very passionate about!

There is another teaser at the end in our 'Truth or Lie' feature and you need to decide again if it is Kathryn or Andrew that is a liar. But! Like last time you have to tune in to episode 3 to hear the answer.

Hi Everyone,

This is our third episode and it's all about vaping. The most interesting thing is that Kathryn and Andrew have kind of switched roles in this one. Kathryn is more cautious about the underwriting of ecig users, than Andrew is!

Are you guessing who is telling the truth or lying, right?

In this episode we are focusing on e-cigarettes and what you need to know, if you use these and want insurance.

Our 3 key takeaways,

1. 5-6% of adults in the UK vape.

2. Some insurers may class very occasional smokers, as non-smokers.

3. Potential ratings for an ex-smoker that has previously had a heart attack.

As with all of our episodes, do you agree with us? Disagree with us? Send us a message and let us know your thoughts. We would also love for you to send us any questions that you want us to discuss on upcoming episodes.

*** Disclaimer: In this episode we are going to be talking about mental health conditions and in particular suicidal thoughts and attempts. Please be aware that some people may find some of the content upsetting.***

Hi Everyone,

We had a really insightful time at last week's Cover Mental Health conference. It was great to hear from our peers and new friends, about how we are all taking every step that we can to support people living with mental health conditions.

Kathryn is not one to shy away from saying that she has had generalised anxiety disorder for many years, and experienced agoraphobia a couple of times. She is incredibly passionate about people living with mental health conditions, getting fair access to insurance.

Andrew has been working alongside insurers to determine the best ways to develop current medical underwriting stances, especially the language used, when it comes to mental health. He is currently developing a mental health training programme for advisers, so that they can support their clients fully.

Our 3 key takeaways,

1. 26.8% of 16-24 year olds have had suicidal thoughts.

2. Example Vulnerable Customer policy.

3. Case study client that was able to have life insurance after a suicide attempt, without a permanent suicide or self-harm exclusion.

We always love to hear from you, please do let us know your thoughts of the podcast and if you think that our ramblings are good, bad or simply not your cup of tea.

Hi Everyone!

We are absolutely thrilled this week to be joined by our first guest, Mike Adams OBE. Mike is an incredible speaker and advocate for improving access to products and services, for people with disabilities.

Mike's organisation Purple have gained significant attention in recent years with Purple Tuesday, a day where all organisations are asked to truly think about how they can improve access to their offerings.

This mindset to improve accessibility, shouldn't just be one day a year, it should be embedded in a company's ethos. In this episode we talk with Mike about how the insurance industry has made big improvements to improving access to insurance and we also chat about where things could still be better.

Our 3 key takeaways:

1. The consumer spending power of the disabled community, the Purple Pound, stands at £249 billion per year!
2. For years people with disabilities have asked for and many have been denied support to work from home. The coronavirus lockdown has shown that this is possible for many organisation to adapt to employees working from home.
3. There are roughly 300,000 people per year that need additional medical underwriting for protection insurance. Insurers need to develop ways to adapt their medical underwriting processes, due to the limitations on medical resources that coronavirus is causing.

We hope that you enjoy this episode. Mike has a wealth of experience and knowledge on how to break down barriers, so that people living with disabilities are treated fairly by organisations. We hope that his message of a continued need for equality in these troubling times, is heard by all.

As with all of our episodes, we love your feedback! Please let us know what you think and if you have any suggestions for future episodes pop up a message.

Next time we are focusing on Multiple Sclerosis

Hi Everyone!

Things have been incredibly interesting in the insurance world recently (yes, we know, you can count on us to be the life and souls of a party!).

In this episode we are focusing upon multiple sclerosis and how the new world of insurance, is treating applications from people living with the condition. As always Kathryn poses a few challenges to Andrew on why insurers work the way that they do.

From an advisers mind "outside" of an insurer, there are some things that seem like they should be pretty easy changes. Andrew brings his technical knowledge to the chat, to explain why insurers work in the ways that they do, the reasons why some barriers to insurance still remain in place, and also his view on areas where insurers could adapt more.

Our 3 key takeaways:

1. There are 130,000 people living with MS in the UK.
2. Some tips for advisers on how to support clients with MS applying for insurance, during the coronavirus pandemic.
3. Two case study clients living with multiple sclerosis, that were able to access protection insurance.

We hope that you find this episode informative and thought-provoking. We are trying to keep these episodes balanced to show the positives of the insurance world, whilst also not pretending that everything is perfect.

As with all of our episodes, we love your feedback! Please let us know what you think and if you have any suggestions for future episodes pop up a message.

Next time we are focusing on Strokes with a mystery guest.

Hi Everyone!

Today we are so pleased to have Steve Casey joining us on the podcast.

Steve has worked within financial services for many years, but that is not the focus of this episode. In 2018 Steve had a stroke, completely out of the blue, in his words it came with a bang.

This episode is focused upon hearing Steve's story, how it felt to have a stroke, what happened and how his recovery has been. We then venture a little bit into his experience of making a claim on his critical illness insurances afterwards and what he is up to now.

He is an incredible guy and we hope that you enjoy listening to him.

Our 3 key takeaways:

1. The FAST stroke test.
2. You do not always experience facial weakness and loss of arm strength, when having a stroke.
3. Two case study clients that had experienced strokes, that were able to access protection insurance.

As with all of our episodes, we love your feedback! Please let us know what you think and if you have any suggestions for future episodes pop up a message.

Next time we have another mystery guest, focusing upon the importance of income protection.